Another gem related to this topic of street speed vs. safety comes from an article by the ever-awesome Streetsblog covering Toyota's recent hearing in the House oversight committee. Within, this juicy "rule of thumb" from a 2007 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study:

When travel speed increases by 1%, the injury crash rate increases by about 2%, the serious injury crash rate increases by about 3%, and the fatal crash rate increases by about 4%. The same relation holds in reverse: a 1% decrease in travel speed reduces injury crashes by about 2%, serious injury crashes by about 3%, and fatal crashes by about 4%.

Compelling proof that even the smallest changes in traffic speed can make the biggest difference for the safety of pedestrians. (I still hate the word "pedestrians." There must be a better alternative. "Walkers?" "People?")

Anyway, back to the photo: its photographer, Alan Stanton, has a very nice (and obsessive!) collection of street photos covering not just the bad & the ugly but also the good, including this lovely shot of the car-free Green Lanes Harringay Festival. Definitely worth checking out—do click through for a visit.

Another gem related to this topic of street speed vs. safety comes from an article by the ever-awesome Streetsblog covering Toyota's recent hearing in the House oversight committee. Within, this juicy "rule of thumb" from a 2007 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study:

When travel speed increases by 1%, the injury crash rate increases by about 2%, the serious injury crash rate increases by about 3%, and the fatal crash rate increases by about 4%. The same relation holds in reverse: a 1% decrease in travel speed reduces injury crashes by about 2%, serious injury crashes by about 3%, and fatal crashes by about 4%.

Compelling proof that even the smallest changes in traffic speed can make the biggest difference for the safety of pedestrians. (I still hate the word "pedestrians." There must be a better alternative. "Walkers?" "People?")

Anyway, back to the photo: its photographer, Alan Stanton, has a very nice (and obsessive!) collection of street photos covering not just the bad & the ugly but also the good, including this lovely shot of the car-free Green Lanes Harringay Festival. Definitely worth checking out—do click through for a visit.